Mechanical throttle linkage...UPDATE!

I presently have a cable setup and I not only hate the looks, but about every other year, I end up replacing the cable because it frays and breaks. My car is a T Bucket. My assembly is mounted to the firewall and the pedal hangs almost directly in the middle of the tranny hump. On the engine side, the cable has to go around the distributer before it can connect to the carb. The sharp turn coming off the firewall is probably where the wire is getting frayed. It's almost a 90* turn.

So, what I'm thinking is a throttle assymbly like a normal car, but reversed to put the linkage in a straight line to my carb. Speedway has something that could work, but I would have to reverse it and rebend the arm where the footpad would be attached. I have solid motor mounts, so engine flex is close to zero.

Here is Speedways setup. I would reverse it, so the arm that connects to the carb linkage would be on the left.



Would this work? Is there a setup already available for what I want? Is there a better way?

 

not sure what you need....but it wouldn't be hard to just make the whole thing

then use some 3/16" rod and carb ends to connect it

 

Well, the pic is basicly what I need, but the arm assembly needs to be on the opposite side, so I'll be able to use a straight 3/16" rod. The one pictured has an extra arm for where the pedal would attach. I'd cut one off and bend the other one to the position I need.

I hope this clarifies. Probably not, but in my head it's clear.

 

I cant imagine the part in that picture fitting anywhere on a car. Why not look at an existing setup and use it as a guide to make your own? Look at 57 chevy car, 1950 Ford car, 35-40 Fords

 

hey, that throttle pedal would just fine, we have used that type and others similars for years with out any problems . I have 1 in my parts boxes that looks a little better and is the similar bolts to the firewall, it was made by Hedgcock and has cast aluminum pedel pad. I will try and post pictures tomorrow, I hope this helps.

 

Used that type of pedal in my dirt car back in to 80s. If you build one like it need to do something to lube the shaft thats runs thur the tube cause dirt and dust will cause problems with pedal retrun. That type is build to be able to pull pedal back if it sticks. Its a good ideal now to offset to do what you are looking to do.

 

I have actually seen those lefts and rights in the roundy round catalogs. Maybe contact a place like Summit or jegs (I actually have a preference but not to spam) and see what is actually available.

Lake City Racing is also a good place to look, I don't know if they have a web site but they shoudn't be hard to find that are in Chicago.

 

Anyway, I had a cable, (maybe one of those fancy Lokar ones?) on my T.
I got tired of the way it looked and last year made a 3/16 rod that went straight from the pedal in the cab right to the carb, no bends. I have rubber motor mounts and cannot feel the engine moving in the pedal. The hole in the firewall is about 1/2 inch dia to accomodate for the swinging motion of the link without hitting and binding.

I like it and it looks more right.

Frank

 

Fred,

I made the one for my truck. I just used a couple of 1/2" rod ends for the pivot, some 1/2" ID tubing to run a bolt through, and the rest was just round bar and flat stock. Mine was simple and works great.

 

Something to keep in mind, years back my brother had a hopped up 78 ford 4wd, they from the factory had mechanical throttle linkage. We were out dicking around in it when he romped on it and broke a motormount, the motor rocked up and was pinning the throttle wide open! as it accelerated and started using less torque it settled back down and let the throttle off but is scared the shit out of us for a bit. I always thought that if he had locked on the brakes it probably wouln't have let up and may have gotten out of hand pretty quick. We just changed the mount and added a peice of chain as a backup, but it is something to keep in mind, as cables dont do this.

 

I'm sure you can make mech. linkage work , biggest problem i see is the open hole in the firewall.... and I gotta ask, why are you running solid motor mounts ???

dave

 

That's a race car pedal setup that allows you to pull the throttle closed with your foot if it gets stuck open. On my Model A truck I used a spoon throttle pedal and then a piece of 5/16" rod as a linkage. It has a threaded rod end on the carb side and a 90 degree elbow at the pedal end. I have run 20,000 miles with it with no problems. If you have access to junk cars or a Pick n Pull close by go look at old mechanical tranny kick down linkages. They are usually made up out of two or three rods with adjustments and cool ends. Very useful to make throttle linkages out of. I always save any type of adjustable rod when I junk a car out as they always come in handy.

 

How about Speedway's T catalog? Something like 916-55011? Actually they have quite a few.

 

while on the subject of throttle linkage and pedals one thing I have seen over and over again is a setup where the complete pedal and pivot is inside the car and a rod going through a small hole in the firewall to the carb. that to me is an invitation for a stuck throttle.

not sure what that Speedway thing is but it sure isn't anything I would want to use even if it was free.

 

Look up Smiley's Racing Products....they have all different kinds of them and some are to the left side too.

 

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I agree with Matt Thrasheer about fabbing one up. Here is one we are using in my coupe.




.

 

It's made for sprint cars. I was going to tweak it to make it work. I'm going to sit down and do some measuring and see how I can make one. I'll also check some of the sites that were suggested.

Oh, I use solid motor mounts because this new engine snaps the rubber ones, when I stomp on it. I broke 2 while doing test drives. They work good and I don't get any vibration like I thought I would.

 

I have that one. I need a way to connect a straight rod to it. Or could I use a rod and bend it the few inches to attach to this? That's what I thought of at first, but I figuered it would bind.

See, I only need the rod to come over about 4". Could I use a "L" shaped rod without a bell crank assembly? It would be 18" long from the carb to the inside of my car, then bend 90* and run 4" to my pedal assembly. Could that work withoutt binding? That would solve the problem and I could get the rod at the hardware store.

 

i made mine using rod and heim joints google heim joints

 

I was going to use heim joints. But could I use a rod with a bend in it to reach my pedal?

 

you're talking right angle bend?

then a 4" offset to the pedal.

Have a pedal stop so you don't put a lot of excess force on the arm after full throttle.

Or weld a little corner brace at the turn.

 

Then a "L" shape piece could work? If so, I'll check on some 3/16" threaded rod. The pedal assembly is firmly mounted, so I don't see a lot strain from just a 4" offset after adding the corner brace.

 

used this setup for 40yrs now

bell crank assembly on out side fire wall to line up pedal to carbs

 

i would 2nd the make your own pedal and linkage crowd! here is a set up i did on a o/t ride. you never have to worry about a cable if you used 3/16 or 1/4 heims and rod!

 

i always liked the pedal assemblies that buick used on the early riveiras, they had an aluminum block that mounted over the hole that the linkage went through and the arm was strong enough to bend over to line up with the carb.
i have heated and twisted brake pedal cranks so they could be flipped and mounted in the opposite side.

 

After drawing out what I thought would work, this morning I got to it. I measured and figured that I would need 20" of tubing. I chose 1/4" steel brake line. I thought about using aluminum, but since I was going to put a bend in it, I decided to go with steel.

I measured and bent it accordingly. It's an "L" shape. 15 1/2" from the carb to inside my T. Then bend 4 1/2" to my peddle.

I mocked it up and drilled a 1/2" hole in the firewall, accordingly. Then I tapped the ends of the tubing to take a threaded 6.0 X 1 metric stud. On the carb end, I used the attachment from my cable set up. Inside, a metric bolt goes through the peddle arm and into the tubing. The peddle arm has 3 mounting points for tweaking the angle, as the arm moves back when the peddle is pushed.

Total cost: $4.99 for the steel line
$6.99 for the tap
$4.99 for the metric bolts (I cut the heads off to make studs)

Before. Look at the 2 crappy bends from the firwall and around the dist. :



After:



View from the inside (sorry for the bad lighting)



Took about an hour. No binding. Just a nice, simple install and function. Not having the friction of the cable going arond the 2 bends in the previous setup is like night and day. Instant throttle response. I adjusted the peddle, so the lower edge of the trans tunnel acts as a throttle stop.

Saved some money and got the satisfaction of doing it myself.

 

Nice job. I had just started reading this thread and was going to suggest something like this. You all beat me to it! Still really nicely done looks a lot cleaner, too.

 

Thanks. And, dare I say it, it looks "traditional".

 

One more reason to add to my list of why your car is one of my HAMB favorites.

 

Thanks, Pete. It always means a lot when you throw out a compliment.